CA Cancels Salmon Fishing Season - WA & OR Next?

[silverdalesauer]

https://news.yahoo.com/california-cancels-salmon-fishing-season-171539191.html

Officials in California have issued a ban on salmon fishing anywhere along the state's coast for the remainder of the season, as the state's yearslong drought is still taking its toll on the once-abundant fish population.

In a recent announcement, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said salmon fisheries that were originally scheduled to open on April 1 would remain closed through May 15. The decision came as part of a broader effort, involving state agencies in Oregon as well as the National Marine Fisheries Service, to cancel ocean salmon fishing along much of the coast — from Cape Falcon, Oregon, to the U.S.-Mexico border.

For California, the ban aims to protect the Chinook species of salmon, which previously inhabited several of the state's largest rivers and in recent years have been seen in dwindling numbers.

Thanks to multiple atmospheric river storms in California, rivers on land are roaring but the effects of years of drought are now being seen on the salmon population, CBS Bay Area reported.  Last year, just 60,000 of the adult fish returned to the Sacramento River to spawn, officials said. This was a small fraction of the 196,000 fish expected there, and approached a record annual low for the area, according to the fish and wildlife department. Officials are also hoping that the fishing ban will prevent the Chinook population from decreasing further in the Klamath River, which is also threatened.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council has proposed additional policies to regulate salmon fishing off the coast of California through the spring of 2024, wildlife officials said. The proposals, which would ban commercial and ocean salmon sport fishing until April of next year, were approved by the council for public review at the end of last week.

This is the second time in history that California has canceled fishing season, CBS Bay Area reported, with the last ban taking place between 2008 and 2009 in response to another prolonged drought period.

"Fishery managers have determined that there simply aren't enough salmon in the ocean right now to comfortably get a return of adult salmon to reproduce for 2023," said John McManus, president of the Golden State Salmon Association, in comments to CBS Bay Area.

Jared Davis, who operates a charter boat for sport fishermen, told the station his entire summer has been wiped out.

"It's devastating," he told the station.  "This is more than just an income issue for me. It's an inability to do what I love. So, on a financial level and on a personal level, it's devastating."

Dwindling marine life populations prompted wildlife officials in Alaska to cancel the winter snow crab season in the Bering Sea near the end of last year. It was a first in the state's history.

[silverdalesauer]

https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/ocean-salmon-sport-fisheries-in-california-closed-for-april-through-mid-may-2023#gsc.tab=0?ftag=YHF4eb9d17

Today, on recommendation from California and Oregon agency representatives and industry advisors, the National Marine Fisheries Service took inseason action(opens in new tab) to cancel ocean salmon fishery openers that were scheduled between Cape Falcon, Ore., and the U.S./Mexico border through May 15.

The sport fishery had been scheduled to open off California in most areas on April 1. The actions were taken to protect Sacramento River fall Chinook, which returned to the Central Valley in 2022 at near-record low numbers, and Klamath River fall Chinook, which had the second lowest abundance forecast since the current assessment method began in 1997.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) has produced three regulatory options (PDF)(opens in new tab) for the May 16, 2023, through May 15, 2024, time period. None of the three options would authorize commercial or ocean salmon sport fishing off California until April 2024. The alternatives were approved by the PFMC for public review today.

On March 21, 2023, the PFMC will hold a public hearing in Santa Rosa to receive public comment on the three proposed regulatory alternatives. The PFMC will then meet April 1-7 in Foster City to adopt final regulations. More information regarding the PFMC meetings and options can be found on the PFMC website at www.pcouncil.org(opens in new tab).

[RB]

The last time they did this we ran into a couple boats from CA in Sekiu. They just wanted to fish and thought it would be better in Washington than Oregon, so they trailed their boats up and stayed for a week.

[hunter399]

Oh it's coming!
King inslee is all about the salmon.

[Bareback]

It’s been happening since the merger of WDF and WDF. Consider it the death of a thousand cuts.

[Skillet]

WA is a very complicated fishery, and Inslee doesn't have the power to just shut it all down.  Of CA, OR and WA, WA will be the last to lose salmon fishing entirely.  You can actually thank the tribes for that.  It's true, the Boldt decision did cut all harvest in half - but by doing so it allied Washington fishermen with one of the most powerful lobbies around. 

Fishing politics makes for strange bedfellows, for certain.

[Fidelk]

Salmon fishing in Cali was hit or miss.........bottom fishing for lingcod and rockfish was usually excellent. Current rainfall should provide good river conditions for returning salmon in Cali. If they had such low returns last year, wouldn't it make sense to allow as many salmon back into the spawning streams as possible? BTW, that was a question not a position statement.

[Stein]

All those giant elephant seals and sea lions sunning on the docks of CA send their thanks.

[Stein]

WA is a very complicated fishery, and Inslee doesn't have the power to just shut it all down.  Of CA, OR and WA, WA will be the last to lose salmon fishing entirely.  You can actually thank the tribes for that.  It's true, the Boldt decision did cut all harvest in half - but by doing so it allied Washington fishermen with one of the most powerful lobbies around. 

Fishing politics makes for strange bedfellows, for certain.

So tribal and rec/commercial fishing are connected?  What would prevent shutting down our half and keeping the tribal half going?  I have no idea, honest question.

[Jake Dogfish]

WA is a very complicated fishery, and Inslee doesn't have the power to just shut it all down.  Of CA, OR and WA, WA will be the last to lose salmon fishing entirely.  You can actually thank the tribes for that.  It's true, the Boldt decision did cut all harvest in half - but by doing so it allied Washington fishermen with one of the most powerful lobbies around. 

Fishing politics makes for strange bedfellows, for certain.

So tribal and rec/commercial fishing are connected?  What would prevent shutting down our half and keeping the tribal half going?  I have no idea, honest question.

The tribes don’t want to shut down commercial fishing, they called Inslees recent support of a bill to ban gillnets in the Columbia racist.
If anything, they would get rid of sport fishing first.

[Fidelk]

And they can sell off portions of the tribal quota to the "cowboys'.

[storyteller]

Does anybody remember the old "EF Hutton" commericals?   When Ef hutton speaks, everyone listens.    That is the way I see it when people like Skillet and Tbar speak, what we don't know is pretty amazing

[Wetwoodshunter]

WA is a very complicated fishery, and Inslee doesn't have the power to just shut it all down.  Of CA, OR and WA, WA will be the last to lose salmon fishing entirely.  You can actually thank the tribes for that.  It's true, the Boldt decision did cut all harvest in half - but by doing so it allied Washington fishermen with one of the most powerful lobbies around. 

Fishing politics makes for strange bedfellows, for certain.

So tribal and rec/commercial fishing are connected?  What would prevent shutting down our half and keeping the tribal half going?  I have no idea, honest question.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/2022%20-%202023%20Final%20LOAF%20w%20signatures.pdf
Here you go it is all in here.

[jstone]

Jay will do whatever Newsom does. He is trying to ride his coat tails to the top

[Skillet]

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/2022%20-%202023%20Final%20LOAF%20w%20signatures.pdf
Here you go it is all in here.

That's last year's North of Falcon meeting outcome. It is interesting to see how it all worked out. Those meetings are so contentious there's no predicting what comes out of them year-to-year.

What is certain, however, is that our carts are hitched to the tribal horses in Washington.  If they fish, the cowboys fish.

Does anybody remember the old "EF Hutton" commericals?   When Ef hutton speaks, everyone listens.    That is the way I see it when people like Skillet and Tbar speak, what we don't know is pretty amazing

There are a handful of guys on this site that are far more knowledgeable about NOF than I am.  But I agree, there is much unsaid on this topic.